4 ms·

This might be an unpopular opinion, but the speed at which this story has overtaken social media has made me skeptical. That coupled with the fact that the stor

This might be an unpopular opinion, but the speed at which this story has overtaken social media has made me skeptical. That coupled with the fact that the story practically doesn't exist in mainstream media. And in this case I just don't buy the whole "lamestream" media narrative. The mainstream media was all over the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. There's no reason they wouldn't be interested in giving more coverage to this story if it were worth covering. Something about this story's rise to fame has seemed really inorganic to me.

vuln 4y ago
> The mainstream media was all over the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. Different victims and different person/people/organizations/administrations to blame.
xadhominemx 4y ago
It went viral on TikTok. Was that entirely organic? Or did the Chinese government throw some tinder on the fire? It’s pretty bad that they have the capability.
- davesque 4y ago
  Not sure if you misread it but I said it was inorganic.
  - xadhominemx 4y ago
    Yes I was agreeing with you. It’s very possible it was inorganic.
legitster 4y ago
It's not a conspiracy. The amplified version of the story originated from Chinese state media as a direct response to the balloon story: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-64633990 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-64633990 > At the same time, state media has begun focusing on a different narrative - a derailed train carrying hazardous material in Ohio. > Though the incident happened in early February, Chinese news outlets are now devoting significant coverage on the topic, citing US media reports. US officials have performed a controlled release of toxic chemicals from the train to prevent contamination. > It has since become a significant talking point on social media. On Weibo, China's equivalent to Twitter, the main Ohio train hashtag has been viewed more than 690 million times since the weekend, with more than 40 hashtags created on the topic. > Many Chinese netizens have expressed worry that the incident would turn into a global environmental crisis, and anger over the relatively sparser coverage of the train incident in US media compared to the balloons. > "Turns out the Wandering Balloon was being used to take the heat for Ohio," a post liked nearly 3,000 times reads.
yunwal 4y ago
Flint is a great example because it only gained attention because residents started complaining on social media and in public forums[0][1]. Despite widespread protest and refusal to drink the water, and mass sickness, official sources maintained that the water was safe to drink[2]. National news media picked up the story almost 2 years after the switch in water treatment systems[3]. Even still EPA officials refused to acknowledge issues with Flint water, with Obama drinking Flint water at a press conference to convince people it was safe[4]. It wasn't until 2017, 2 and a half years after the switch, that media and official consensus was that Flint constituted an emergency. So yeah, keep your pitchforks out people! [0] - https://midmichigannow.com/news/local/flint-residents-avoiding-the-tap-drinking-bottled-water-instead#.U-T3xIBdWKs https://midmichigannow.com/news/local/flint-residents-avoidi... [1] - https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2015/01/21/flint-water-meeting/22142589/ https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2015... [2] - https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2015/01/22/water-woes-latest-hit-flint/22193291/ https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2015/01/22/w... [3] - https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/watered-down https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/watered-down [4] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2ZynkD3N_k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2ZynkD3N_k

vuln 4y ago

> The mainstream media was all over the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. Different victims and different person/people/organizations/administrations to blame.

xadhominemx 4y ago

It went viral on TikTok. Was that entirely organic? Or did the Chinese government throw some tinder on the fire? It’s pretty bad that they have the capability.

davesque 4y ago
Not sure if you misread it but I said it was inorganic.
- xadhominemx 4y ago
  Yes I was agreeing with you. It’s very possible it was inorganic.

legitster 4y ago

It's not a conspiracy. The amplified version of the story originated from Chinese state media as a direct response to the balloon story: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-64633990 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-64633990 > At the same time, state media has begun focusing on a different narrative - a derailed train carrying hazardous material in Ohio. > Though the incident happened in early February, Chinese news outlets are now devoting significant coverage on the topic, citing US media reports. US officials have performed a controlled release of toxic chemicals from the train to prevent contamination. > It has since become a significant talking point on social media. On Weibo, China's equivalent to Twitter, the main Ohio train hashtag has been viewed more than 690 million times since the weekend, with more than 40 hashtags created on the topic. > Many Chinese netizens have expressed worry that the incident would turn into a global environmental crisis, and anger over the relatively sparser coverage of the train incident in US media compared to the balloons. > "Turns out the Wandering Balloon was being used to take the heat for Ohio," a post liked nearly 3,000 times reads.

yunwal 4y ago

Flint is a great example because it only gained attention because residents started complaining on social media and in public forums[0][1]. Despite widespread protest and refusal to drink the water, and mass sickness, official sources maintained that the water was safe to drink[2]. National news media picked up the story almost 2 years after the switch in water treatment systems[3]. Even still EPA officials refused to acknowledge issues with Flint water, with Obama drinking Flint water at a press conference to convince people it was safe[4]. It wasn't until 2017, 2 and a half years after the switch, that media and official consensus was that Flint constituted an emergency. So yeah, keep your pitchforks out people! [0] - https://midmichigannow.com/news/local/flint-residents-avoiding-the-tap-drinking-bottled-water-instead#.U-T3xIBdWKs https://midmichigannow.com/news/local/flint-residents-avoidi... [1] - https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2015/01/21/flint-water-meeting/22142589/ https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2015... [2] - https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2015/01/22/water-woes-latest-hit-flint/22193291/ https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2015/01/22/w... [3] - https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/watered-down https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/watered-down [4] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2ZynkD3N_k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2ZynkD3N_k